My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Countdown to the Playoffs, Game # 16: Roy Hallday
notches win no. 16 as the Phils sweep the Marlins, 10-5.
Their lead in the East is now at three games.

Roy Halladay notches his nineteenth win of the season, taking the NL lead in that category, as the Phils’ bats pound on the Marlins again, as they sweep the fish, 10-5. They are now leading the NL East by three games over the Braves, who had earlier lost to the Nats.

The Phils took the lead in the first as, with two men on, and with two men out, Jayson Werth hits an RBI single, scoring Chase Utley, who had earlier walked, then moved up to second base on Ryan Howard’s walk, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while Howard, who had just walked, would stop at third base. The Phils then took a 3-0 lead as Raul Ibanez hits a two-run double, knocking in Howard, and Werth, who had earlier stole second base. The Marlins got a run back in their half of the first as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Dan Uggla hits an RBI single, scoring Emilio Bonifacio, who had earlier singled, then moved up to second on Hanley Ramirez’s ground out, 4-3, making it a 3-1 Phils’ lead. The Phils would get the run back in the third as Utley hits a solo home run, his fifteenth home run of the year, giving the Phils a 4-1 lead. Five batters later, with the bases loaded, via a walk to Howard, a single by Ibanez, sending Howard up to second base, and a fielding error by third baseman Chad Tracy on a force attempt on an Carlos Ruiz ground ball, allowing Howard to reach third, Ibanez to get to second base, and Ruiz to be safe at first, and with one man out, Wilson Valdez hits an RBI single, scoring Howard, making it a 5-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Ibanez to third base, and Ruiz up to second base. Two batters later, with the bases still loaded, and now with two men out, Shane Victorinio hits an RBI single, scoring Ibanez, making it a 6-1 Phils’ lead, while sending Ruiz to third and Valdez up to second base. The Phils then increased their lead in the fourth as, with the bases loaded once again, via a walk to Werth, a single by Ibanez, moving Werth to third base, and with Ibanez going up to second base on the late throw to third, and an intentional walk to Ruiz, and with two men out, Valdez hits an RBI single, scoring Werth, giving the Phils a 7-1 lead, while moving both Ibanez and Ruiz up a base. The Phils then made it an 8-1 game as, with Roy Halladay pitching, Brett Sinkbell uncorks a wild pitch, allowing Ibanez to score, and Ruiz and Valdez to move up to third and second base, respectively. The Marlins got a run back in their half of the fourth as, with the bases loaded, via singles by Gaby Sanchez, Scott Cousins and Brad Davis, and with one man out, pinch hitter Hector Luna hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Sanchez, making it an 8-2 Phils’ lead, while sending Cousins on to third base. The Phils would make it a 9-2 lead in the fifth as, with a runner on third, and with nobody out, Placido Polanco hits an RBI single, scoring Victorino, who had just tripled. The Marlins got a run back in the sixth as Sanchez hits a solo home run, his eighteenth home run of the year, making it a 9-3 Phils’ lead. The Marlins then made it 9-4 Phils in the seventh as, with a man on third, and with nobody out, Ramirez hits a ground out RBI, 6-3, knocking in Logan Morrison, who had just tripled. The Phils added to their lead in the ninth as, with a man on second, and with one man out, pinch hitter Ross Gload hits an RBI double, knocking in Ruiz, who had earlier doubled, giving the Phils a 10-4 lead. The Marlins tried to rally in the ninth, as they loaded up the bases, via a single to Bonifacio, a walk to Morrison, moving Bonifacio up to second base, and a walk to Uggla, moving both Bonifacio and Morrison up a base, and with one man out, Sanchez walks, forcing in Bonifacio, making it a 10-5 Phils’ lead, while moving both Morrison and Sanchez up a base. But that would be it for the Marlins, as Jose Contreras would come in and shut them down, first by striking out Tracy, swinging, for the inning’s second out, and then getting Cousins to ground out, 4-3, for the final out.

Roy Halladay gets the win as he pitches six innings, giving up three runs on ten hits, while striking out nine, taking the league’s lead in that stat. His record is now 19-10 with an ERA of 2.49. Chad Durbin pitches an inning, giving up a run on a hit. Ryan Madson pitches a scoreless inning, hitting a batter, while striking out two. Brad Lidge pitches a third of an inning, giving up a run on one hit and three walks, striking out a batter. Jose Contreras pitches two-thirds of an inning, striking out a batter. Jorge Sosa took the lost as he lasts only two and a third innings, giving up six runs, only four of which were earned, on six hits and three walks. His record is now 2-3 with a 6.75 ERA. Jose Ceda pitches an inning and a third, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out two. Brett Sinkbell pitches a third of an inning, throwing a wild pitch. Jay Buente pitches two innings, giving up a run on three hits, while striking out a batter. Brian Sanches pitches two scoreless innings, walking one, while striking out one. Leo Nunez pitches an inning, giving up a run on two hits.

The Phils collected fourteen hits in the game, with Wilson Valdez and Raul Ibanez both leading the team with three hits each, with Valdez’s hits being all singles, knocking in two runs, while Ibanez’s hits were two doubles and a single, also knocking in two runs. Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz followed with two hits apiece, with Victorino’s hits being a single and a triple, knocking in a run, while Ruiz’s two hits were a single and a double. Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and pinch hitter Ross Gload had the other four Phils’ hits, with Polanco and Werth’s hits being singles, with both man knocking in a run, with Utley’s hit being a solo home run, and Gload’s hit being a pinch hit double, knocking in a run. The other Phil run came in on a wild pitch. The offense went back to scoring runs, this time off of the Marlins’ bullpen.

The Phils (86-61, 1st) have the day off today, as they come home to Philadelphia for a nine-game home stand, starting with a three-game weekend series with the Nationals (62-84, 5th). They now have a three game lead over the Braves in the NL East pennant race.

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